The present invention relates to a support for a troughed belt conveyor in the region of feed to the belt. Such supports are known in the conveyor industry as receiving sections.
Troughed belt conveyors typically comprise a flexible endless belt supported from beneath by a number of transverse rollers such that a load supporting surface of the belt adopts a trough-like section in use. A receiving section is located in the region of the belt at which loads are deposited onto the belt. Receiving sections may also be arranged to contain dust and overspill from about the belt. Receiving sections of this kind are known, for example, from GB 2188018A. Such receiving sections have proven highly advantageous in use.
However, such receiving sections are adapted only to operate up to certain widths of conveyor belt. As a practical matter, broader belts are used to convey larger loads. As such, it follows that larger heavier loads will be deposited onto broader belts. A heavier load is more likely to damage the belt if the impact is not absorbed correctly and quickly.
There are problems encountered in simply scaling up known receiving section arrangements beyond a certain size. It is known to use cone shaped elastomeric buffers as resilient mounts for the receiving sections to help in the absorption of impact. This gives a highly desirable energy absorption characteristic in that such buffers will absorb an initial load quickly with a relatively large deformation with further deformation, and hence deflection of the receiving section, requiring greater force. However, if an elastomeric buffer is compressed too far, it will become brittle and fail. Thus, generally to deal with larger loads it is necessary to use larger cones of elastomeric material.
Unfortunately, beyond a certain size, the elastomeric cones do not provide sufficient initial displacement when a load impacts onto the belt and the belt instead becomes more easily damaged.
In providing for a receiving section that can cope with large loads, there is a need for a buffer arrangement that does not suffer from the limitations described above.
It is an advantage of the present invention that it provides such a buffer arrangement.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a receiving section comprises two supporting structures each adapted to support one half of the width of a conveyor belt and each having a first independent resilient mount disposed at or adjacent its outer edge away from a centre line of the conveyor belt and a second resilient mount adjacent the centre line of the conveyor so arranged that each supporting structure tends independently to dip downwardly towards the centre line of the conveyor belt under load wherein the second resilient mount comprises a plurality of first and second resilient mounting means extending substantially parallel to the centre line, the first and second mounting means having differing energy absorption characteristics.
Advantageously, the first and second mounting means comprise elastomeric substantially cone shaped mounts.
More preferably each of the second mounting means is approximately two thirds the height of each of the first mounting means.
Additionally, the first independent resilient mounting means comprises a pivot mechanism having a resilient bushing.